Latest Podcast



Featured Articles

Ofcom says mobile contracts should ditch inflation-related price rises

Ofcom says mobile contracts should ditch inflation-related price rises

UK telecoms regulator Ofcom wants to ban inflation-related rises in phone and broadband contracts. Instead, it says any potential mid-contract price rises should be set out in pounds and pence.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Global smartphone market is set for recovery, says new forecast

A new forecast from research specialists Canalys shows the smartphone market is set to recover next year. Worldwide shipments declined by 12% last year but that decline is expected to slow to 5% this year.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

New Hutchison/Vodafone network would be biggest UK operator

Vodafone Group plc and CK Hutchison Group Telecom Holdings Limited have agreed to combine their UK telecommunication businesses, respectively Vodafone UK and Three UK. The merger will create a large new network operator to compete with Virgin Media O2 and EE.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

UK mobile payment service Paym to close in March 2023

UK mobile payment service Paym will close on 7th March 2023. The service, which allowed users to make and receive payments using their mobile phone numbers, was launched in 2014.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Which? seeks payout for Samsung and Apple smartphone owners

Consumer protection organisation Which? has been given permission by the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal to represent Apple and Samsung smartphone buyers in a legal case against chip manufacturer Qualcomm.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS

Opinion Articles

Last week at The Fonecast: 24th March 2014

The new iPhone no-one was expecting

Mark Bridge writes:

New Apple products! New Android smart watches!

You’d be forgiven for not having noticed either of those news stories last week. Apple did indeed announce a new iPhone – but it was simply a new iPhone 5c with just 8MB of memory.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

LTE fuels the race for the fastest network

Noam Green of Flash Networks writes:

The introduction and deployment of LTE networks offers real promise for both subscribers and operators worldwide. It brings the potential for revolutionary improvements in quality of experience for mobile broadband, and even faster downloads and video streaming.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Last week at The Fonecast: 10th March 2014

Bye-bye Barcelona, hello Hanover

Mark Bridge writes:

As one show closes, so another show opens.

It’s now more than a week since we bid a sad farewell to Mobile World Congress 2014 – I imagine hotel rooms for 2nd to 5th March 2015 are already being booked – but there’s now CeBIT in Germany to look forward to. Prime Minister David Cameron kicked things off last night with a speech that talked about UK-German partnerships, more funding for research around the ‘Internet of Things’ and the development of 5G technology.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

WiFi technology, problems and solutions

explained by Professor Andrew Nix from the University of Bristol

In this presentation, which was originally given as part of the ‘Multimedia Content Delivery onto Mobile Platforms’ session at Mobile World Congress 2014, Professor Andrew Nix from the University of Bristol explains many of the often-forgotten truths about WiFi service.

If you’re an IT manager, working in a mobile phone shop, looking at tech product design or simply want to get the most from your mobile phone, Professor Nix has plenty of practical advice in this 20-minute video clip.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Key themes from Mobile World Congress 2014

by Andrew Skinner, Relationship Director of the Technology, Media & Telecoms team at Barclays

The GSMA reported that 85,000 visitors attended Mobile World Congress this year, breaking all previous records for the show.

Andrew Skinner, Relationship Director of the Technology, Media & Telecoms team at Barclays, reflects on his time in Barcelona and some of the key themes to come out of this year’s show.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS
First2345791011Last

Recent Podcasts

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Samsung to acquire the LoopPay mobile payment platform

Samsung Electronics has agreed to acquire mobile wallet service LoopPay. LoopPay’s products can allow a retailer’s conventional card reader to also accept contactless payments, with the ability to work with around 90% of all point-of-sale terminals in the USA.

For consumers, there are options of a separate LoopPay device or using the LoopPay app and putting a customised case on a compatible smartphone.

Customers can ‘load’ their existing debit cards and credit cards to LoopPay, which lets them pay via their phone or by holding a LoopPay device next to the credit card reader. The LoopPay device generates a magnetic field that’s then received by the card reader.

Samsung was already an investor in LoopPay, along with Visa.

JK Shin, President and head of the IT and Mobile Division of Samsung Electronics, said “This acquisition accelerates our vision to drive and lead innovation in the world of mobile commerce. Our goal has always been to build the smartest, most secure, user-friendly mobile wallet experience, and we are delighted to welcome LoopPay to take us closer to this goal.”

Figures from eMarketer show that mobile proximity payments in the USA - payments made with a smartphone at the point of sale in place of a credit card or cash - totalled $3.5 billion last year but are forecast to reach $27.5 billion next year. Similarly, the number of mobile proximity payment users in the USA is expected to more than double from 2014 to 2016.

Bryan Yeager, analyst at eMarketer, said “Samsung’s acquisition of LoopPay signals how serious it is about building and launching a competitive mobile payments system in the United States. It also likely gives Samsung exclusive access to LoopPay’s technology, which enables mobile payments to be made at merchants who haven’t upgraded their point of sale technology to support newer contactless payment methods like NFC - of which there are many.”

Print
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Rate this article:
No rating

Leave a comment

This form collects your name, email, IP address and content so that we can keep track of the comments placed on the website. For more info check our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use where you will get more info on where, how and why we store your data.
Add comment

Follow thefonecast.com

Twitter @TheFonecast RSS podcast feed
Find us on Facebook Subscribe free via iTunes

Archive Calendar

«October 2024»
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
30123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031123
45678910

Archive

Terms Of Use | Privacy Statement